AS you are reading this BFAWU members everywhere will be receiving forms through the post for one of the most significant ballots in our history.

Our current general secretary Ronnie Draper is retiring and our members need to choose who is going to lead our fantastic union into its next phase. There are two of us standing, but I hope our members choose me.

My name is Sarah Woolley and I joined the BFAWU as a Saturday assistant at Bakers Oven (which became Greggs) when I was 16. I have never been part of another trade union. The BFAWU is all I know and I’ve a lot to be thankful for from my membership.

You may ask why is this 32-year-old single mum is standing for general secretary? In short I believe I am the right person to lead our union through its next chapter.

Our longest standing general secretary, Joe Marino, took up the position at 32 and did a fantastic job leading our union for many years. I am so proud that he has chosen to support me for the role.

The difference between me and Joe — other than I will be 33 at the point of the position starting — is that, unlike Joe, who took up the role straight from the shop floor, I have the additional experience of sitting on our national executive committee, as well as the General Federation of Trade Unions.

I have sat on the GFTU’s finance & general purposes committee too; I have knowledge and experience of being part of the team managing our union as well as a federation with 28 affiliates, but also an understanding of dealing with the finances too, an important aspect of the general secretary role.

I am also currently an organising regional secretary so have seen and experienced first-hand our union organisation as an employee as well as a member and executive council representative.

That, alongside my years of experience leading different-sized teams within Bakers Oven and Greggs and the changes within the structures of both, has given me the tools I need to be able to effectively lead our union.

I have also spent many years utilising the educational opportunities available to me from the movement to develop the areas needed for the role that I wasn’t as strong in and validate the knowledge and experience I have.

This gives me a holistic view of our union and the areas that need development within it.

Our industry is changing, becoming more automated and increasingly precarious, which means fewer people are needed to do the job. As a result of this we need to change and develop as a union. In the last 12 months alone we have lost about 1,000 members and we can’t continue on this route without putting ourselves at risk of losing our independent status. This can’t possibly be an option for one of the oldest trade unions in Britain.

The election of a new leader normally drives change in an organisation — and this election has come at a pivotal time for the BFAWU.

We have arrived at a fork in the road: carry on as we are, doing what we have always done because it worked decades ago, and see our membership continue to decline — or we can take the other route and make changes, working together collectively, listening to new ideas and trying alternatives. Learning from our mistakes and developing our work to engage our membership, empower activists and grow.

I want our union to be strong and fearless, with the best-trained reps in the movement, organising and growing our membership, providing the best education, with powerful campaigns and working democratically so that we are truly led by the membership.

I want us to step out of our comfort zones to draw in new areas of membership, as we have with the fast-food campaign, because we have a duty to look after everyone in our industry.

424,000 people work in the food manufacturing and drink sector, our sector: I think we have only touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of membership.

Change won’t happen overnight — it’s scary, but what is scarier is the thought of the BFAWU not being here in as little as five years’ time because we have buried our heads in the sand. That is not an option.

If I am elected as the next general secretary I will lead the union through the changes needed to modernise it and keep it relevant to our members in our industry.

I will ensure that we make our union accessible to all workers across all industry sectors. I will ensure that the members drive the direction of our union democratically and develop the education that we provide working with our providers to ensure we have the best-trained reps in the movement.